“Tsk! Useless.”
Most of them were Lvl 1, and that soft-billed undead platypus was Lvl 2, but it got smashed in an instant.
However, through the connected powers, I instinctively knew this wasn’t the end.
If I infused it with mana or divine power, I could probably fix the broken platypus.
But it would only end up getting stomped again. Lvl 1… Even at best, it might only be useful in Lvl 2.
Still, since it’s one I pulled from the gacha, I should at least fix the broken bones. I won’t resurrect it, though.
I glared at the skeletons closing in from all directions and activated Basilieus.
The Crown of Thorns touched my head. My perception surged as my senses reached out far away, and a momentary rush of exhilaration filled me.
“Hoo.”
I lightly scraped a skeleton that had gotten too close with my dagger.
Smack! Snap!
Even just brushing past it caused it to halt in pain. Seizing the moment, I grabbed a handful of seeds from my subspace pouch with my opposite hand and scattered them all around. And then…
“Grow.”
Vines grew instantly, entangling themselves with the skeletons that had been charging at me.
The foremost ones got buried in the vines and couldn’t move, while those chasing from behind were left floundering as the leading ones formed a wall.
If there were any trees around, I could’ve just controlled the roots to smash them… But sadly, there were no living trees on the Fourth Floor.
So I had to use what I could grow right now, which was weak vines.
Of course, being vines, they were only made up of bones, but they couldn’t fully block the skeletons, which were undoubtedly Lvl 4 monsters.
Well, as long as I could stall them for a bit, that would be enough.
With a sly grin, I pulled out some Holy Water from the subspace pouch I borrowed from Benny and lightly poured it over the vines.
The vines absorbed the Holy Water in an instant. I manipulated it with Basilieus to spread evenly across the vines.
It was just some low-grade and intermediate Holy Water, and I didn’t pour a massive amount, so I couldn’t take down the skeletons… But it should at least weaken them for a time.
In fact, I could see the movements of the skeletons that touched the Holy Water-laden vines noticeably slow down.
“Let’s go.”
I thrust my Unicorn Dagger down into the head of a thrashing skeleton.
The dagger pierced effortlessly like cutting through a cake, and simultaneously, half of the skull shattered with a glimmering light. Of course, without its head, the skeleton fell helplessly.
After dealing with all the surrounding skeletons in the same manner, I manipulated the vines to bind the remaining ones.
How many times did I have to repeat the process of incapacitating skeletons and smashing their skulls?
Just as the Holy Water-soaked vines started to lose their potency, I was finally able to take down all the skeletons in the vicinity.
Benny, who had come out of the Safe Zone and was watching blankly, spoke to her shadow.
“Shadow. Don’t touch the loot here. Especially, don’t pull the mana stones. Got it?”
Grrr.
A response came from the shadow, as if understanding.
After giving a casual thumbs up, I put the repaired platypus bones back into my subspace and replayed the battle from earlier.
“Pretty slow, huh?”
“No, from my perspective, that’s incredibly fast! Isn’t it crazy for someone just now stepping into the Fourth Floor to take out monsters like that? You even look super safe!”
“It’s only natural considering my equipment and powers. However, at this rate, it’ll be tough to beat Ellie in our bet.”
“Tsk. That’s true.”
Benny scratched her head awkwardly. I smiled at her and continued.
“Of course, the real start is just about to begin. I had a bit of a cost, but I genuinely prepped this time, so you can look forward to it!”
I briefly closed my eyes, recalling the connection I had felt just moments ago.
It felt as if part of my soul lingered within the dead bodies. However, that doesn’t mean I directly controlled them.
What I did was merely serve as a power source, issuing simple behavioral instructions. Everything else followed the memories inscribed on the body.
No, it wasn’t just a simple memory.
It was a trace of life that had been etched when they were alive, remnants of a spirit that could infer its shape.
Death only signifies that their spirits have left, but it doesn’t mean the end.
A thousand years have passed, and though they are preserved in a labyrinth where time and space are a jumble, they still are who they are.
This is simply a call to the dead. It’s time to rise. To move for me.
As I began to actively use the power I had grasped by using it once, I felt a slight burning sensation around my neck.
Was it because of the power? I instinctively knew.
The burning sensation etched into my neck came from the language of the dead being temporarily inscribed there.
“Jonah. Your neck right now…”
Suddenly halting her words and closing her eyes, Benny blinked in surprise at the strange patterns appearing on my neck.
I waved my hand quietly in response to her. It was natural, as the voice of the dead prevented me from speaking.
Sensing something was off, Benny swallowed nervously and took half a step back.
I smiled at her with my eyes to express gratitude, then focused my mind even deeper.
Splitting a part of my soul to use as fuel to move the cold corpses, I simultaneously sent my command through this fragment.
The voice calling the dead was solely a power to assist in this.
My mental strength, my perception, and as much as my soul’s caliber permits, any unclaimed corpse would rise in response to my call, ready to fight for me.
Clack. Clack.
With the sound of bones clattering, the skeletons that had been shattered gradually stood back up.
This was why I specifically asked Shadow to stop automatic farming for a while.
I had no idea how many would stand, but if I could have even a few to take hits, I could move more boldly.
As long as I land a solid hit, thanks to the Unicorn Dagger’s nature of inflicting critical damage, this directly translates to efficiency.
Clack. Snap.
“…?”
But something felt off.
The sound of bones assembling continued without a pause.
Curious about this, I opened my eyes to see a sight where all the skeletons I had just taken down were slowly rising with a clatter.
“???”
Holy smokes, what on earth is this?
I couldn’t speak but blinked in shock, momentarily forgetting to breathe.
Despite being connected to so many entities, they looked perfectly fine, except for a slight dizziness.
There was a mental strain, but it wasn’t severe, and I didn’t feel any differences on the soul side at all.
In fact, the only issue seemed to be my cognitive abilities…
I reactivated the Basilieus that I had dismissed after the battle ended.
Hum.
A tingling feeling deep in my heart accompanied the Crown of Thorns being placed upon my head. At the same time, the dizziness I had felt moments ago vanished.
“……”
Seriously, what is going on?
Through the connected sensations, I realized there were a whopping 34 skeletons linked to me.
To feel no real burden from this was quite astonishing.
Of course, I could roughly guess the reason.
The potential of a Lvl 4 power, backed by the love of the newly drawn death, had inscribed the skills, and the forcibly honed mental resilience supported it.
Moreover, with skills comes forced stat boosts, and the dungeon’s rewards had developed my senses, further enhancing my cognitive ability parallelly.
If I lay it all out like this, it sounds plausible… but I didn’t expect it to be this much.
Benny and I were both startled, looking around wildly. Before long, fully reassembled skeletons filled the vicinity, their eyes flickering with a pinkish glow as they looked at me.
As if urging me to give them orders.
“Y-Jonah? Is this really you controlling them? Their eye colors and the eerie energy they emit feel different… Is it okay if we don’t take them down?”
Tilting her head, Benny concentrated her mana in her hand, forming a fist, opening and closing it.
I shook my head as I grabbed her shoulders.
“Why don’t you just say it…?”
Benny, perplexed, started scratching her head. I opened her palm and quickly wrote with my finger.
– I can’t talk while maintaining this.
“Ugh?! Hmm…?”
She fidgeted, her curiosity unable to resist her itchiness. I had no choice but to snap a wilting vine and once again write on the dirt.
“Aha? So that’s why you’ve been quiet this whole time?”
Nodding.
“Anyway, it seems like these skeletons are under your control…”
Nodding again.
“Are you really a saint after all this?”
“……?”
“Could it be that you’re actually a lunatic who thinks they are a saint?”
“……”
As soon as she realized I couldn’t speak, Benny began to chat excitedly.
Watching her cheerful demeanor made me chuckle softly. Then, I wrote in the dirt again.
– Now let me show you the reason why.
Pure passive-type powers have no leeway for intervention. Like the growth acceleration of Basilieus or the health recovery buff from the Mountain’s Seed.
However, active-type powers that are activated with intent can adjust the strength, allowing weaker hits or stronger hits.
By additionally consuming divine power, I can enhance the effect to some extent.
And if the undead containing a fragment of the Saint Goddess Jonah is reinforced by the divine power of the Goddess of Love…
It creates a truly divine undead.
“Uh? Uh?! This is undead! It’s a skeleton!”
Benny screamed as if she couldn’t accept it. Of course, maintaining this would be akin to burning through my divine power.
So I would aim to keep it at just enough power to barely be resistant to divine energy.
Even if I cut down and minimalized it to the max, it seemed I couldn’t maintain it for more than 30 minutes…
But that should be enough.
Sprinkling some excess Holy Water left on the weapons the skeletons held, I commanded them.
– Move straight towards the center!
I’ve got to make the most of these 30 minutes.
